Food Bank Cooking, National Coffee Day and Stuffed Peppers

Let's not dwell on how tough the last year has been and instead focus on the title of my first blog post in over a year. I suppose it's cheating to write about food bank cooking now that I no longer rely on the food bank to stretch a very meager budget, but I learned a lot in those months. That's saying something for the person who calls herself the Empress of Make-Do.



Today is National Coffee Day and I'm sitting in the sunshine drinking a cup of French press coffee made with The Coffee Bean espresso beans and Kivu hazelnut cream beans. Why the blend? Because The Coffee Bean is $2 more per pound than Kivu and it's a good way to stretch a coffee budget. It's also tasty.

Good coffee is a treat when you're on a food bank budget, which leads me to the point of what will be a series of posts. Going to the food bank is like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're going to get. And some weeks, you might actually get a box of chocolates. Basic canned foods, expired products, and less than stellar produce rub shoulders with gourmet chardonnay oak smoked salt, oyster sauce and organic granola. Sometimes coffee shows up, sometimes it doesn't. This translates to a real-life food budget.

How? You're looking for the cheapest possible products that are at least marginally healthy, if not better, when you need to stretch every available dollar. Mostly that should mean purchasing inexpensive and healthy staples like dried beans, lentils, split peas, rice and oats -- in bulk if you can because they're cheaper that way and you can get exactly what you need and not an ounce more. It means you eat much less meat, or none at all and spend that money on the fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables you need for optimum health -- 2-1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day, minimum. Once in a while, if something is on sale and you have a few extra dollars, you splurge. Manager's Special meat, extra virgin olive oil, organic anything, good coffee...

We're living through uncertain times and millions of us are hanging on to the very lowest rung of the middle class ladder by our fingertips. Without health insurance we desperately Google topics like "apple cider vinegar for health" (I know this because I process titles for an online content mill). Food and health are inextricably entwined and even on a minimal budget you can eat to stay healthy. Let me leave you with a recipe. In fact, it's what we're having for dinner tonight.

Stuffed Green Peppers

4 green bell peppers (or any other color)
1 can of beans (I'm using black beans tonight, any kind will work)
1/2 cup rice (brown if you have it, for the fiber, but any kind works)
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
any seasonings you want - oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, chili powder, whatever
oil (olive or canola for the heart-healthy benefits)
cheese or breadcrumbs (optional)

Slice the tops off the peppers and take out the seeds and ribs. Lightly rub oil on the outside with a paper towel. Cook your rice and combine with the beans, corn and seasonings. Put a little oil in a skillet and add the can of tomatoes with the liquid. If you have garlic cloves, add one, minced. Same goes for a small onion, finely chopped. Cook over medium high heat, mashing the tomatoes as they cook, until the liquid evaporates out, leaving a thick sauce. Add to your rice mixture and mix well. Spoon the mixture into your peppers. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. If you want to use cheese or breadcrumbs, sprinkle on the top of each pepper for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Note:
Beans are an excellent source of protein, but lack some essential amino acids our bodies need to get from food (meat sources contain complete protein). If you combine beans with grains you get protein as complete as if you ate meat.

Green peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C. A green pepper contains 60 percent of the vitamin C you need each day, while a red pepper offers 240 percent of the vitamin.